Quick post today folks to let you know the Great Backyard Bird count for 2011 starts today! I hope you find a little time to check in with your feathered friends and send in your totals. You’ll find all the info you need to participate on the GBBC website.
Here’s the link – Great Backyard Bird Count
Enjoy!
Spring is a very busy time around here, as you can imagine. Not only does it seem like spring has flown by, but lately it feels like it also. Early April temps in the mid to upper eighties is not spring-like for us here in New England, so it was nice to be able to enjoy a few minutes on the deck tonight as a cold front moved through and started the temperature moving toward normalcy.
Finding a few minutes to unwind is one of the simple things that can keep you sane during the busy season, and I was rewarded not only by the downtime and cooler weather, but with a few other surprises as well.
I caught the first glimpses of our resident bats, as they dashed back and forth against the evening sky, catching all manner of insects. They no doubt are hungry, as they have fasted for the winter during their hibernation. We have been worried that we might not see them again as most of the larger bat communities in the east are succumbing to White nose syndrome (Read more about it here – http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html), but each spring we are relieved to see them return.
The spring peepers were in full chorale, hoping to find a mate. Stop by www.Naturesound.com to learn more about them and to hear their soothing sound!
In the distance, to top off the evening, a whippoorwill sung his melodic song over and over again. It isn’t every night we get to hear a whippoorwill, and when we do it’s never from the same location. It moves around from a small field to the southwest of us to somewhere off east of the house tonight. Whippoorwill populations are declining across the northeast, as their habitat continues to disappear. Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, read more about them and even hear their beautiful song.
Tonight was a rare treat, and I’m glad found a few minutes to enjoy our local friends of nature before they’re gone. I hope you find the time to stop and enjoy some of nature’s wonders.
I bid you Peace!
Scott
February is National Bird Feeding Month, and from the 12th to the 15th, you can take part in The Great backyard bird count. This is fun way to help gather data about our feathered friends and the health of their populations. You’ll find plenty of information by visiting the websites of The National Bird-Feeding Society, and The Great Backyard Bird Count, to help you get started.
Creating wildlife habitat in your garden is not only fun, but essential in helping to combat the shrinking populations of birds and insects in our world. Why should we care about bird and insect populations, you ask? Well, we’ll answer that complex question in future posts, but for now, suffice to say that we are all connected in the great web of life, and keeping a healthy and diverse ecosystem benefits each and every one of us.
And if the winter doldrums have still got you down, there is something you can do about it, embrace winter and all it has to offer. For starters, stop by for a visit to the Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog, where Naomi Sachs, a fellow Landscape designer and Twitter friend is in the middle of a wonderful series on connecting with nature in winter. Follow her suggestions, and you might find yourself enjoying the shortest month of the year.
Until next time, here’s hoping you connect with your surroundings!
Scott
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